it's being called the perfect storm. sandy just named a tropical storm ontrack to collide with the winter weather system. new forecast models just coming in. what it means forour area. all ahead on news 4 today. good morning everyone. i'm angie goff. >> i'm richard jordan. it is saturday, october 27, 2012. we have states of emergency issued in d.c., maryland, and virginia. >> with the storm approaching on the weekend that means a mad rush on supplies. brace yourself for long lines and empty shelves at grocery stores. >> you'll be hard pressed to find power generators. some hardware stores have already sold out. power loss could be a big deal

with this storm. >> let's find out the latest on the storm's track with meteorologist chuck bell. it's been downgraded a little bit. that doesn't mean we're in the clear. >> don't be fooled by the fact it is no longer a hurricane and moving down to tropical storm. that has absolutely nothing to do with how big of an impact that storm is going to have on us. we all knew all along it would not be a tropical system by the time it got this far north because the water over the ocean is so much colder this time of the year. that is causing the weakening. it is still going to be one heck of a storm as it gets into our area. temperatures early on your saturday morning mild and kind of clammy outside. temperatures upper 50s and low 60s. no rain showing up. if you have things to do outside this weekend, preparations for the storm, today will be a good day to do it. no rain around here. there are rain showers back out to the west. that is part of the cold front interacting with the tropical storm as it comes up the coast line. there is the first drops from

sandy breaching cape hatteras, north carolina. we'll keep a close eye on this all weekend. cloudy, cool. on the mild side today with temperatures into the mid and upper 60s and not much of a rain threat for today. that changes overnight tonight. rain increasing and wind increasing dramatically by the second half of your sunday. talk more about the track and everything else you should expect coming up in a couple more minutes. >> chuck, thank you. as the storm sets its sights on the u.s. east coast places like cuba and the caribbean are cleaning up from the destruction. the death toll is up to 44 people in the caribbean including 29 people in haiti. the numbers are expected to rise because more than 250,000 people are still living in temporary, unsecured housing from the earthquake back in 2010. flooding is also a concern as river levels are also on the rise. today d.c. residents preparing for hurricane sandy can get free sand bags from the department of public works. they'll be there between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. today. outside rfk stadium in lot number 7. meantime we expect to learn more

today about preparations during a news conference. be sure to stay with news 4 and nbc washington.com for the latest on how the city is preparing. one area that is not looking forward to potential flooding is d.c.'s bloomingdale neighborhood. this community is prone to flash flooding around florida avenue and north capitol street. yesterday crews rushed to clear storm drains. one woman says she took matters into her own hands. >> they said do the best you can. i'm so tired of this. i don't know what to do. >> you've been here contributing to the fabric of this community for quite sometime. there is no reason you should be here trying to get these leaves out. >> the neighborhood experienced flooding five times this summer alone. >> the storm could have a major impact on travel not just in our area but up and down the east coast. some airlines are offering travelers a way out. here is a live look at reagan national this morning. major airlines are putting into place flexible travel policies.

that way passengers can change flights to try to beat out the storm or just cancel plans all together without paying a fee. the fees can sometimes be more than 50. area rail systems are also working overtime so they can try to keep trains running during the storm. amtrak says they may have to adjust service or stop trains completely if winds gust above 60 miles per hour. metro is cleaning out storm drains and putting sand bags at stations prone to flooding. meanwhile area residents are making a rush on grocery stores to stock up on supplies. >> i'm glad to get bottled water, any kind of water. anticipating the storm i think folks are going to be at all the stores picking up as much water as they can. >> generators have also been a hot item selling out at some hardware stores in the area. despite the threat of bad weather metro is still doing track work this weekend. trains are single tracking four of the system's five lines on the red line trains share a

track between twin brook and grovener and between forest glen and tacoma. orange line trains are single tracking between stadium armory in cheverly and today only blue line trains are single tracking between frank own ka springfield and van dorn street while the green line trains share a track between green belt and college park. storm team 4 is tracking tropical storm sandy on air and online. sign up for breaking news and weather alerts on nbc washington.com. follow us on facebook and twitter. the coming election is not immune to mother nature. sandy has both campaigns rescheduling or rethinking some of their campaign stops. mitt romney is canceling his sunday night rally in virginia beach and still plans to keep two other stops in the state earlier in the day, one of which is at battlefield high school in haymarket. a stop by president obama in prince william county monday with former president bill clinton may also be in jeopardy. the campaign says they will monitor the storm to decide whether to reschedule.

first lady michelle obama is back in washington this morning after experiencing some flight problems last night. the first lady's plane was delayed in las vegas where she was doing some campaigning there yesterday. the aircraft was held up for about three hours because of mechanical problems. there is no word on what exactly those problems were but the flight eventually took off around midnight eastern time. senate majority leader harry reid is out of a nevada hospital this morning. he suffered minor head and rib injuries after a chain reaction crash on a las vegas interstate. senator reid's security detail took him to the hospital just as a precaution. >> glad he's okay. and the time right now, good morning. 6:06. new from overnight a robbery outside a walmart in fairfax county. the attack we say involved a hammer, next. a tragic night for a maryland couple out walking their dog. the new information on this case since 11:00 is straight ahead. it is a big weekend for runners. the special event today for those in the marine corps marathon. we are taking your questions about sandy online this morning.

you can send us a tweet or comment on facebook. try to use the hash tag sandy d.c. we'll get the questions answered for you here throughout the morning. morn[ minto ] you know, those ads saying mitt romney

would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me, but i'm more concerned about the debt our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time, but we just can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

good morning. we continue to gear up for sandy as the latest report has it now as a tropical storm. we continue to brace for what promises to be a big rain maker. >> with sandy projected to make landfall between virginia and new york beach towns in new jersey expect to feel the brunt of the storm. we have a reporter on the beach in new jersey so we will get you to her. she is live and is going to show us exactly what the conditions are there and what they expect so we'll get that to you later on this morning. also new this morning police are searching for the person who used a hammer to pull off a robbery outside a local walmart. police tell us the attack happened around midnight at the store on richmond highway in alexandria. the victim was apparently struck with the hammer but did not need to go to the hospital. the search remains for the attacker. a charles county woman is

dead and her husband in serious condition this morning after the couple was shot while walking their dog around 7:00 last night in waldorf. sheriff's deputies say the couple passed a man while walking their dog near hampshire circle. when the man started barking the -- the dog started barking the man opened fire. >> we're not sure if the suspect shot because the dog barked at him, if this was an attempted robbery. there are a lot of pieces of the puzzle we're trying to put together. we're talking to people who may have been out here to see if they heard or saw anything unusual. >> both were shot multiple times and taken to a nearby hospital where the woman died. early yesterday evening in takoma park police say two men robbed an armored car in broad daylight at a strip mall. at new hampshire avenue and university boulevard they fired at a guard who then returned fire. the men got the cash, jumped into a car, and drove about a mile where they shot another man and stole his car. >> never bothered nobody.

always a working man. he never caused any trouble with anybody. >> people screaming all over and we had to hide inside. >> police later recovered the stolen car. the man who was carjacked is recovering but the two gunmen are still at large. today the prince george's county police officer killed last week in a car accident will be laid to rest. officer kevin bowden died when an suv crashed into his cruiser in clinton, maryland, sending him into a utility pole. yesterday loved ones attended a viewing for the officer who was a 28-year-old father of two. >> kevin was my best friend. he was the best person i knew. we were together for three years. it was three wonderful years. he changed my life. i was his little big brother. >> the memorial service is scheduled for this morning at st. stevens baptist church in temple hills. the time is 6:12. next we'll take you along the

coast as beach side property owners get ready for the monster storm. >> also, liz crenshaw will show you do it yourself projects around the house that can keep you from paying big bucks next week. and chuck is analyzing the latest computer models in storm center 4. we'll have the lat anncr: it's said that character is what we do... when we think no one is looking. mitt romney: believe that they are victims. anncr: mitt romney thought no one was looking when... he attacked forty-seven percent of americans. his companies shipped jobs overseas. his plan cuts millionaires' taxes, but raises yours. he'll voucherize medicare... and make catastrophic cuts to education. so remember what romney said... and what his plan would do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

sandy is expected to affect beach communities along the east coast. beach towns in new jersey are already bracing for impact. wcau in philadelphia joins us from long island beach with more on how residents there are preparing. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i want to show you the ocean. it really speaks for itself. you can see quite a rough surf here on long beach island this morning. i can tell you since we have gotten here about an hour and a half ago the water is starting to inch up. this part of the beach is very

narrow. long beach island is about 18 miles long. we're at the south end. you can see how far this water is coming and just how close it is to these dunes. you can see fencing along here. they've had significant beach erosion issues in the past on this part of the island. there are homes right on the ocean front here. so definitely a concern as sandy moves closer to the jersey shore. of course flooding a concern as well. right now this entire island as are many of the coastal communities, the barrier islands in new jersey, under a voluntary evacuation order. totally optional at this point b. people are preparing their homes. we'll be monitoring the storm throughout its duration. that is a live look at the conditions this morning. we'll send it back to you. >> all right. marisa brady in new jersey, thank you so much. we'll be checking on the delaware beaches a little later on as well. >> seems like the weather might be wreaking a little havoc with her live shot there.

we got through it. we've been asking all morning, what are your questions about this storm and its impact in the washington, d.c. area? we heard from james murphy early. he said it seems like the storm is weakening, falling apart. will this affect the impact sandy will have in the d.c. region? >> well, first of all, it has weakened below hurricane to tropical storm force for now but there is all expectation the storm will regain hurricane intensity before it makes landfall. so don't be fooled by one advisory where the storm drops from one category to the next. it is not going to matter whether it's a hurricane or a tropical storm force officially. this is going to be one heck of a storm for us to deal with. high winds, heavy rains, beach erosion, high tide problems, coastal flooding, every single thing you can throw at a weather situation we have on the plate including winter weather possibilities across the western parts of the west virginia mountains. so yes indeed we could actually see temperatures in the 60s with rain on the delaware coast at

the same time it's snowing in morgan town, west virginia. that would be monday, monday night, into early tuesday time frame. for now just to get your weekend started all is relatively calm and quiet first thing on a saturday morning. it is already cloudy. clouds rolled in late yesterday afternoon. so any amount of sunshine you saw yesterday, that might be your last glimpse at the sun until the second half of the upcoming week. it is really going to be a long period of time before we see any real dramatic improvement in our weather picture. 60 degrees right now. winds out of the northeast at 8 miles per hour. that northeasterly wind will continue to increase slowly during the day today and a big increase tomorrow. temperatures upper 50s to around 60 degrees. it's not a cold start today at all. temperatures will be on the mild side today. we'll be in the mid to upper 60s for most of the afternoon with plenty of clouds around. can't rule out a little patchy drizzle here or there but most of us will be rain free for the day today. here's a look at storm 4 radar.

not much going on around our area. a few rain drops and a stead err band of rain showers now. this is part of the cold front. on the back side of that is winter. out ahead of it we're still dealing with late summer and a touch of the tropics. here is the forecast advisory for sandy from the hurricane center. tropical storm for now. this is up through 1:00, 1:30 tomorrow afternoon. watch what happens as we go forward through time a little bit. it regains hurricane strength for a brief time before it comes racing toward the jersey coast. most likely place for a land falling hurricane is going to be somewhere on the central to southern half of the new jersey coast is the way things look for now. again, whether it's a tropical storm or minimal category one hurricane when it makes landfall will make no difference. the impact will be high and extreme and prolonged all across the mid-atlantic coast line. if you have any travel plans you really need to consider if you can change them or better yet delay or cancel them all together. so rain and wind will be the

biggest impacts arriving during the day tomorrow. i think the worst of the worst of it is monday lunch time to about tuesday at sunset around here for us. strong winds, coastal flooding, heavy rain. 3 to 5 inches of rain minimum around here. power outages could be a huge problem. cloudy, wet, and mild around the area for today. spotty drizzle possible. temperatures in the 60s. tonight clouds continue. chance of a little bit of light rain after midnight. start off temperatures tomorrow morning upper 40s and low 50s. tomorrow cloudy and wet. rain and wind. increasing as the day wears along tomorrow. temperatures upper 50s and low 60s and there's your all important seven-day forecast. enjoy the quiet weather today everybody. once it gets going it's going to stay going for a long time all the way through the upcoming week. be ready for that. it is going to be a ferocious, ferocious storm and it won't matter whether you're on the coast or in the mountains. it's going to be high impact. >> thanks for the update. >> okay. moving on as richard said,

plenty of people along the delaware beaches are not taking chances. many are packing up and heading out. >> residents in low lying areas have been told to evacuate as the storm gets closer. news 4's erika gonzalez is there. >> reporter: as the waves ease along the rehoboth beach shore it is almost too picturesque to believe an epic storm is headed here. dubbed the perfect storm sandy is no joke. the mayor, samuel cooper. >> everybody needs to take some action i think at minimum bringing lawn furniture and that sort of thing in. at most would be evacuate. >> reporter: don't wait for mandatory evacuations. make your preps now to move. that's the word from the emergency director of sussex county to those living in low lying areas and mobile homes. >> it's a beautiful day and has been all day long. >> reporter: but randy huber who's had this vacation home since the '80s refuses to budge. >> if it is going to be as bad as they're saying we'll get out of here but it won't be tonight.

>> reporter: in a matter of days sandy could bully the beach and its residents with rampant rain and intense winds. >> 1962 was kind of the storm of record here. and on the worst case scenario this could be more devastating than 1962 was. >> reporter: erika gonzalez, news 4. for the latest on tropical storm sandy and what your family needs to know to prepare download our weather app. search nbc washington weather in i-tunes or on the android market. runners in the marine corps marathon are not letting sandy get in the way of preparations for tomorrow's big race. this morning about 200 runners will take part in the 5-k training run then enjoy brunch at the marathon's finish line. then later tonight it's time to carbo load. 900 runners and families will enjoy a spaghetti dinner at the hyatt regency hotel. a pipe and drum group will perform and the editor-in-chief of runners world magazine will

speak there. kids also can get in on the fun of the people's marathon today. 3600 little runners between the ages of 5 and 12 will run one mile for the healthy kids fun run at the pentagon today. there will be a free outdoor festival with fun games and activities for the entire family. it runs from 9:00 until 2:00. it is the final day of the marine corps marathon health expo at the d.c. armory. more than 200 exhibits are on display including fitness products, health screenings, and giveaways. the expo is free and open to the public. you can visit today between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. the marathon takes place tomorrow at 7:55 in the morning. the ravens are making headlines this morning despite not having a game this weekend. the nfl is fining the team $20,000 for not listing an injury to star safety ed reed who admitted earlier this month he is playing with a shoulder injury but is still taking part in practice. the nfl requires teams to report injuries even if players continue to take the field. the redskins had to pay a similar fine last week. and there is good news for

the redskins iron man as he tries to keep a streak alive this sunday. >> and the wizards look to end the preseason on a high note. carol maloney has that and more in your "sports mint." good morning. i'm carol maloney. your sports mint begins with redskins injury news. friday was a good day for london fletcher. he finally got back on the practice field. >> i was encouraged today. felt good to get out there and run around. stiff, still another 48 hours before the game day. so hopefully i'll keep improving. >> london is being listed as questionable with balance issues and a hamstring injury. he is the iron man of the nfl with appearances in 231 consecutive games. that streak in jeopardy on sunday. wizards' final preseason game taking on the spurs. earl barren posts a double double 12 points 10 rebounds. playing well with nene and serafin out. it's not enough. spurs 26 fast break points to

the wizards' two. san antonio wins, 100-85. wizards finished the preseason with a 3-5 record. college football saturday. terps visit boston college. freshman caleb rowe making his first start in that one. howard takes a trip to orangeburg, south carolina to face south carolina state. and navy on the road at east carolina. virginia tech, virginia, and west virginia all on a bye. that's your sports minute. i'm carol maloney. college football highlights on news 4 at 6:00. hope to see you then. coming up on news 4 today the big plans for the national christmas tree today before sandy moves in tomorrow. plus how the storm means a major change of plans for one couple trying to celebrate their wedding by the beach. and we are taking a live look now. this is at long island beach where they are preparing for evacuations. we'll be monitoring the situation there and up and down the east coast

hi everyone. good morning. welcome to news 4 today. i'm richard jordan. >> i'm angie goff. it is saturday, october 27, 2012. we want to start with our top story which is of course sandy. >> let's go to meteorologist chuck bell for the latest.ichar angie. good saturday morning everybody. the weekend off to a cloudy and quiet start. this is going to be a very good day to just sort of bring all of your storm preparations to completion. no real weather worries for today. everything starts to go downhill starting tomorrow afternoon. you still have a good while to get things done around the house, prepare things, clean out all of your storm drains and gutters. make sure anything that is not secured outside is either secured or moved to a safe place. temperatures upper 50s and low 60s early this morning. off to a cloudy and mild start. no rain drops on storm team 4 radar right now for us. there are rain drops across parts of ohio, western parts of

west virginia, and that is all part of the weather front. it is not going to be racing in but held at bay just to the west of the mountains here. our rain chances don't really start to ramp up until after midnight tonight and into tomorrow. already from cape hatteras all the way down into the coast of florida is where the rain drops are. your planner for today, get things done. no problems today. cloudy and mild. temperatures into the mid and upper 60s. tomorrow though rain and wind increasing dramatically as the day goes on. again, impacts tomorrow cloudy, cool and humid early in the day. breezy and showers by noon. increasing rain and very windy late tomorrow night and on into the day on monday we could see winds, even in our area, in the 40 to 50-mile-per-hour range. we'll have more about all of this coming up but for now back over to the news. >> thank you, chuck. power companies across the region are also closely tracking sandy and preparing for widespread outages that could last for days. pepco is working ahead of the storm to try to prevent problems. the utility had linemen,

contractors, and tree trimmers on the streets yesterday. they're also running robocalls and have requested 2500 linemen from out of state to work after the storm. dominion is also looking for help from other utilities and asking customers to stock up on flash lights, batteries, and other supplies. now if the power goes out at least you won't have to worry about the power companies charging despite having no lights. the maryland public service commission announced yesterday that utilities will no longer be able to charge customers for lost business during the first 24 hours of a power outage. the charge only amounted to about 49 cents a customer but the derecho in june brought heavy criticism of the policy. emergency workers are working around the clock to prepare for the storm including pulling long hours. crews in fairfax county are busy checking equipment including signage, generators, and even boats. they are encouraging people to stay home when the worst of the storm hits. meantime, crews continue to evaluate whether to set up

emergency shelters. residents are also doing everything they can to get ready for the storm with flooding and power outages that could last days. a real concern, people are collecting sand bags and stocking up on supplies now. news 4's darcy spencer has more on the preparations from alexandria. >> reporter: sand bags are in place to protect against flooding as the region prepares for hurricane sandy. >> it could or could not happen and it could be further south, further north. >> reporter: governors in maryland and virginia have declared a state of emergency as did d.c. mayor vince gray. >> we're just taking precautions now to make sure we are fully ready. we could have flooding in some areas of the city which we are working hard to try to avoid but this is the tropical storm. it could have severe consequences for the region. >> earlier there was a run on generators as people braced for the potential for massive power

outages. people spent the day stocking up on supplies including at the safeway store in d.c. >> i'm glad to get bottled water, any kind of water. anticipating the storm i think folks are going to be raiding all the stores and picking up as much water as they can. >> these d.c. residents say they're not sure what to expect but they grabbed supplies including jugs of water just in case. >> i did my groceries last night and stocked up on batteries earlier. to be prepared. >> reporter: in alexandria, darcy spencer news 4. the navy is preparing to take cover from the storm. last night they got two dozen ships out of norfolk and out of say's path. the ships including the aircraft carrier, u.s.s. harry truman, are going out to sea until the weather is clear to return. norfolk naval station is the world's largest naval installation. a warning for boaters. maryland authorities say if you're planning on riding out the storm on your vessel don't. instead they want boaters who can put their boats on trailers to head to higher ground. boats that have to stay docked

in the water should be secured with double the amount of lines typically used and all articles on deck need to be removed and electric and water lines disconnected. this morning people are being advised but not ordered to leave the area of rehoboth. the mayor is urging people to not wait until the mandatory evacuation order to head inland especially people in low lying areas or mobile homes. also taking cover people there on vacation including one couple that's leaving on the second day of their honeymoon but they say they know the drill thanks to hurricane irene last year. >> we actually got engaged here last year and the storm came in and we had to leave early and now we're here. we got married, on our honeymoon. and the storm came in again. >> so far no evacuation orders have been issued for the town. >> isn't it good luck though to rain on your wedding day? if you can find the silver

lining and try to tie that in. >> we'll check back in with them in a couple years. see how they're doing. coming up on news 4 today a holiday hallmark. a rush to give the national christmas tree its debut before sandy steals the show. protecting your property from flooding. liz crenshaw shares some do it yourself projects you can do now before the storm. remember, storm team 4 is tracking the hurricane sandy on air and online. sign up for breaking news alerts on nbc washington.com. also follow us on facebook and

take a look at sandy. the system is now a tropical storm but still has the potential to regain its hurricane status as it inches up the east coast and of course everyone around here and all across the eastern seaboard is preparing for the effects of what could be a very powerful storm. with the potential of tropical storm sandy dumping rain in our area the threat of wet and

flooded basements is real but preventing it can really dry out your wallet. >> it sure can as news 4's liz crenshaw shows us there are some things you can do and rules you should know so you don't get soaked. >> it got to the point where if it rained hard you would get a mini river of water. >> reporter: like many home owners kevin brasler has been battling an ongoing wet basement problem. the house is 70 years old and the garage basement sits below ground. >> we would get a lot of water along these walls. it's hard to dry out a garage basement. >> reporter: he is not only a home owner but works for washington consumers checkbook so he knows when hiring someone for help he needed to get multiple quotes. he called six companies. >> i had each of them come out and send an smatter to look at the problem and suggest possible solutions. >> reporter: suggested solutions everything from regrading the outside area, excavating, sump pumps, to installing an interior pressure relief system, removing the concrete floor, and digging

a trench inside the garage. and the costs were all over the map ranging from $2500 to more than $15,000. >> there were two companies specifically that clearly wanted to sell me more work than i needed. >> this is a real example of a situation where a lot of home owners get ripped off for a lot of money. >> reporter: robert krugoff is president of washington consumers checkbook and warns against basement water proofing contractors out to make big bucks. >> they shouldn't be in this business. >> reporter: that is because he says most basements get wet when rain water runs toward the foundation walls of the house so before hiring help first try to force the water away from your home. repair gutters and extend downspouts. >> well, most people do not need the sump pump or the french drains or all the tiles around the inside of the perimeter of

their house. >> reporter: he says when he didn't sign a contract the more expensive companies followed up with high pressure sales. >> basically over the course of months i got call after call after call about this. every time i got a call it was our chief inspector wants to come see the work. they want to sell for as much as they can and once i don't sign they're going to drop their price. >> reporter: in the end only three of the six companies offered to correct the problem from the outside. >> we went with the company that wanted to do the work from the outside. we spent $3600 and are completely dry finally. >> reporter: liz crenshaw news 4. >> liz also says those expensive inside fixes like french drains and pumps will in many cases dry out your basement but experts say keeping the water out in the first place is a much better fix. for more on ways to prevent wet basements and read reviews of basement water proofing companies visit our website nbc washington.com and search wet basement. the "today" show is up next here on nbc 4. let's find out what they're

working on. >> lester holt joins us live from new york. good morning. >> good morning. we're talking about what you are. everyone is talking about the weather and that storm. sandy is taking aim of course for the mid-atlantic and heading up our way as well. al roker is in the path of the storm and will let us know how bad it's going to be and when it is going to hit. also we're live in the presidential campaign trail with the race razor tight and election day ten days away. we'll find out how the weather is affecting campaign plans down the wire. also at one time adult film star turned public school teacher goes to court to get her job back. this morning we'll hear her emotional plea to get a second chance. and justin timberlake has only been married a week and already is saying i'm sorry. we'll tell you why. it's all when we get started on a saturday morning right here on "today." for now back to you in washington might have something to do with meet loaf, huh? >> i think so. by the way, i'll see you guys. i'm doing to do "nightly news" from washington tonight in your studio. >> great. >> we'll see you here. thanks so much.

all right. weather wise we continue to talk about sandy. it's going to be for several days. >> this is not going to be an in and out kind of storm. this is going to be a come and stay and visit for a while kind of storm. we'll talk about your weekend and the rather scary looking week ahead for halloween.

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it's either good or terrible timing depending on how you look at it. the national park service says they're going to have plans to replace the new national christmas tree outside of the white house today. a 28-foot tall colorado blue spruce is being transplanted today despite warnings from forecasters about tropical storm sandy. this new one replaces the one that was destroyed by high winds in february of last year. when chuck bell uses words like ferocious winds, i don't know. i'm not a meteorologist but i just think this might not be the best idea right now. >> they better secure the tree very well. i would have ropes going in every direction from this tree to hold it upright. >> bolts. >> exactly. whatever it is going to take. if you plan on doing anything outside this weekend go ahead and get it done today. not much of a rain threat for your saturday. tomorrow is going to be one of

those days where we transition from not too bad in the morning to pretty bad by tomorrow night. and then as we get on into monday and tuesday that's the bulls eye in the time frame for our impacts around here. so get off to a nice quiet start early on your saturday morning. it's mild and kind of muggy and clammy outside a bit. with all the clouds outside temperatures really didn't drop all that much overnight. that northeasterly breeze makes it feel a little cool and damp but it is 60 degrees now. our average low temperature this time of the year is back into the mid 40s so a 60-degree start this morning is mild indeed. 56 rockville. 55 gaithersburg. 56 reston town center. now 55 in manassas and bristow. for the belvoir down through dumfries temperatures in the upper 50s. 61 at the naval academy in annapolis. for today no real weather concerns. get everything done today. do it calm, cool, and collected. don't forget to clean out your storm drains and gutters. get the lawn furniture moved in.

cloudy and mild today. temperatures mid to upper 60s for a high. won't see a big rise in temperatures today because of the cloud cover. no rain drops. too close just yet. the rain showers out across western west virginia and eastern ohio will stay primarily out to our west. the very latest op sandy now, it has been downgraded as of the 5:00 a.m. advisory to a tropical storm but don't focus on that. because this storm still has to run right over the length of the gulf stream out here off the coast of north carolina so by 1:30 tomorrow afternoon almost even with cape hatteras, north carolina. here is the thing. upper level energy diving into the back side of this storm plus it's sitting over the warm waters of the gulf stream means the storm will likely regain hurricane strength and make a hard, fast left turn toward the coast line. this is 10:00 monday night with the storm as a category one hurricane somewhere just off the coast of the new jersey shore. that is the time frame we're watching for here. our weather will deteriorate very, very quickly during the day on monday and stay quite bad all the way through tuesday

before things start to improve. high impacts tomorrow. lower parts of the eastern shore into the outer banks of north carolina. by monday high impacts for wind and rain from basically the i-95 corridor all the way to the coast line and could just be an extreme coastal erosion problem for all of the beaches. power outages, coastal flooding, heavy rain, strong winds. every single thing you could see in a storm system this one will have in abundance. so enjoy the cloudy, quiet, and mild day today. kind of clammy out there. spotty drizzle possible later today. a little breezy at times. highs in the mid to upper 60s. overnight tonight things still raining, fairly calm and cool. chilly. a little light rain possible by sunrise tomorrow morning. start off temperatures upper 40s and low 50s. then tomorrow cloudy and wet. rain and wind. increasing. pretty seriously by tomorrow afternoon. winds north to northeast 15 to 30 miles per hour. here is the extended forecast. enjoy your quiet saturday

because the rain moves in tomorrow and it sticks around through monday and tuesday. and in all likelihood the rain drops may not really come to an end until sometime late wednesday or early thursday and way cold. you know, it may be a tropical system but by the time it gets up to this latitude with all that cold air from the west we'll no longer be tropical but it is going to be ferocious. people say this is an unusual time of the year. people forget hurricane grace, the perfect storm book. that was a halloween event in 1991. and wilma down in south florida seven years ago was also late october. >> last october we had the snow which is kind of bizarre. >> snow on the western side of this one too. not in our area. >> all right. chuck, thanks. now we want to take you live out to nags head, north carolina where we're already seeing rain and wind. >> reporter julie martin is there for us live. good morning, julie. >> reporter: good morning, guys. no rain here in nags head yet but we are seeing the winds and they're quite strong considering the fact that the tropical storm

is still very far off to my south. it's off the coast of florida. but that gives you some idea of just how powerful the storm is and its wind field is very wide reaching. now winds here are gusting up around 30 miles an hour. the surf is churning and as soon as the sun comes up we'll be able to get a better picture of that for you. we are along a pier here. in fact a portion of this fishing pier washed away during hurricane isabell back in 2003 and so we have a lot of vulnerable structures here. the message from officials is that people need to prepare now, prepare structures, move cars to higher ground and be prepared for a long duration event with power outages as well. back to you. >> julie martin, thank you very much. and with sandy headed our way many of you have some questions. >> we'll try to answer them. send them over. tweet us or post on our facebook page. go to news 4 today. use the hash tag sandy d.c. we are back in a moment.

a live look at the radar now, we are tracking sandy. the tropical storm is now just there off the coast of florida and inching its way up. we have been hearing a lot of questions. a lot of people very curious about this storm and the impact. >> too many questions to get to but we promise to get to some this morning and also at 9:00. sarah asked, am i the only one not panicking about sandy, d.c.? better question, am i stupid for not worrying? >> you should not worry or panic. you know, maybe strong words. but you need to be prepared. you need to know it's coming. you need to do the smart things. if you fear a power loss you should go out and get things, make sure you got water and batteries for your flashlight and battery powered radio.

just be smart about it. you don't have to panic. i wouldn't stock up the refrigerator with perishables right now because if you lose power they'll all perish. so as far as outdoor furniture make sure all that stuff is put away or lashed down to the deck would be a navy term. be smart. be prepared. clean out your gutters. clean out the storm drains. be ready for a lot of rain. if you have loose branches or things like that up in the trees today would be a good day if you can't do it yourself to get a neighbor to help you with the low hanging branches or things away from the power lines. >> make sure you're able to somehow charge your phone whether through your car because a lot of times if you do lose power that's the only way you'll be able to get information. >> now we have a statement. more than a question. but this says i don't see it making that turn. i'm no meteorologist but that seems ridiculous. >> we have the meteorologist. >> weigh in expert. >> which computer model do you like better than another. rather than looking at any one computer model the national hurricane center is really, really good at forecasting these

kind of turns. there is still about a 1 in 10 chance this storm could go out to sea and not make the left turn. the reason everyone thinks it is going to make the left turn into the new jersey coast line is there is a very large area of high pressure up to the north over the canadian maratimes and that is going to help force it back to the west. so normally these storms would be allowed to exit out to sea but with that blocking high to the north of it, it's going to push it back into the coast line. so there's a whole lot of reasons that i do think it is going to make the left turn. >> chuck bell answering our questions all morning long. remember, tweet us at news 4 today or post on our facebook page. we'll try to get to some of your questions in the 9:00 hour. >> we have another good resource if you are watching the storm as we were talking about how important your cell phone could be at this time there is a news 4 weather app. meteorologist veronica johnson shows us how it works. >> with some of the big storms a lot of people lose power and one way to stay updated is with your iphone, with your droid phone, your ipad. all you have to do to get our

storm team 4 weather app is go to the app store. if you've got an ipad or iphone it's the app store. if you're on google, on the droid platform it's google play. just type in nbc washington weather in your search bar. you do the search. it comes up. there's our storm team 4 app. you hit it. it's free. you can download it. once you download it, it looks like this. it's really cool. once you come inside to that storm team 4 app it's interactive radar. you've got the four-day forecast, the seven-day forecast. you've got current conditions. on top of that you've got a video that plays. we'll be updating that throughout sandy as it moves up the coast. storm team 4 will be here throughout, keeping you updated. >> all right. thanks a lot for veronica johnson. hopefully everyone is getting their phone and ipad out right now. >> or your android which is great. it has great reviews in the i-tune stores. that says a lot. >> we're back in